


Unexpected Savior

by FallenLightVillain



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: M/M, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:28:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25975942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenLightVillain/pseuds/FallenLightVillain
Summary: Zuko never goes searching for the Avatar, but he does get banished. Sokka ends up injured in the forest after an attack from Azula and Zuko - who lives in a nearby village - finds and helps him. Things start to spiral out of control.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 276





	1. Chapter 1

Sokka was staring at the sun. He was sure that’s what it had to be. That color of pure gold couldn’t be anything else. It didn’t hurt like staring at the sun usually did though, it was like something was watching him and worrying. Like the sun itself was worrying about Sokka’s well being. That wasn’t how things worked though, so he didn’t know what was happening.

A soothing voice broke the ringing in his ears. Rough, warm, and low but he couldn’t tell what it was saying. He reached up, hand shaky and weak and suddenly surrounded by a warm hand. Someone was there, fingers curling under his neck and holding him. He let his eyes start to close.

There was a certain feeling of safety in the warm hand holding his.

\----------

Waking up after nearly dying was  _ not  _ fun and Sokka did not recommend it. It was the current bane of his existence. He felt like he’d been run over by an artic hippo. Not pleasant.

The warm hands carefully helping him sit up and giving him a drink were nice though. His eyes were unfocused and he couldn’t think too clearly, but he could see green covering the arms helping him and that meant the Earth Kingdom. At least that meant that he wasn’t in immediate danger.

Hopefully, probably.

The rough voice that broke through his confusion was gentle, “You took quite a beating, you’ll need more rest.”

“My… sister-” He choked out, realizing that he didn’t know what happened to Katara.

That fight, everything had gone so fast. Sokka remembered going down and the way the others had yelled, but he’d screamed for them to leave before they got caught.

“I only found you,” The voice said, “Nothing else… I’m sorry. If I’d seen someone else I would have brought her too. I checked, but it was dark out and you were already in bad condition.”

Sokka squeezed his eyes closed and cursed. He was upset, but a warmer than expected hand touched his. He slowly blinked, looking up at a pale face surrounded by shaggy black hair. He could see a little better now, blinking his vision clear.

He was surprised as the other turned away, “You’ve got a lot of cuts and bruises, along with a rib I think is cracked.”

“Oh,” He said, staring at the other guy’s back.

He saw him arranging something, “And… a pretty bad burn on your shoulder. I’ve got salves and everything, but it’ll scar.”

Sokka suddenly realized that the guy was warning him about it, but he was awkward in saying it. Like he didn’t know how to break the news. Like Sokka might be annoyed that he’d retain a scar after the guy had tried to help him.

“I’ll be fine,” He told the other guy.

He nodded at Sokka’s words, looking at him. He looked over the side profile of the guy, who was watching him warily. He was just watching him, then realized something. Something about what the guy had told him. Something that made absolutely no sense considering what he was sure he saw.

“Wait, it was dark out? I could have sworn-” Sokka cut himself off, looking down at his hands.

He had seen the sun as he faded out of consciousness. He’d looked up and seen it directly above him, all-encompassing. He was sure of that.

“Yes? It was night, the moon was mostly covered in clouds as well…” The other turned a little more, but still watching him.

If Sokka hadn’t seen the sun, then what was that? Fire? No, it was a golden sort of warmth that he’d only seen in the sun. So he had hallucinated the sun of all things? Maybe it was something else.

“I could have sworn I saw the sun…” He looked at him and watched as the other boy turned around and-

Oh. Oh, spirits what had Sokka gotten into by nearly dying? Speaking of spirits, who gave them the right to make someone who looked like  _ that _ ? Sokka had met plenty of people in his travels that were extremely beautiful. Suki, Yue, and many others but this guy was so fucking pretty Sokka didn’t know if he could even speak. The spirits had obviously decided that it was his time to get fucked over and he didn’t even hold much stock in spirits.

He’d noticed that he was pale, but it was more like he was porcelain. So pale and delicate looking that Sokka felt like someone had struck him because he couldn’t breathe. His hair was shaggy and deep black, softening his features slightly. What was most striking about him though was just how bright his eyes were. The same bright impossible color that had watched him as he faded out. Pure liquid gold.

Sokka finally found his words, “Must- must have been the injuries.”

“I suppose that’s possible,” He admitted, moving to sit next to Sokka on the bed he was laying on.

The gentle hands pulling him up again were so warm and Sokka closed his eyes. He breathed, hoping not to make a fool of himself in front of someone so gorgeous. He knew the odds though, he was going to do something stupid.

“I’m going to check on your burn, I’ve already got your ribs wrapped,” He told him.

Sokka could feel the firm wrap of bandages around his torso and appreciated them, “Hey uh-” He didn’t know his name, “How long have I been out?”

“Almost three days now,” He said, glancing at him, “You were pretty hurt.”

Sokka squeezed his eyes shut. Were they safe? They’d just gotten Toph and they get attacked by that firebender and her two… friends? Sokka didn’t know their names.

“I found these in some of your wounds,” The boy said, showing him a few small dart-like knives, “They’re stilettos.”

“Yeah… we were being chased by some people and one of them was good with those knives,” He grumbled, “Too good.”

He nodded, setting them aside. Sokka noted that the knives were clean, which meant that he at least wiped them off. That seemed a little odd now that Sokka thought about it, but maybe the guy just didn’t want messy knives laying around.

“Hey, I never did catch your name,” Sokka said, glancing as he watched the other hesitate as he’d gone back to his burn, “I’m Sokka, I’m from the Southern Water Tribe.”

“I’m Lee,” The boy said; slowly and carefully using an ointment on the large burn Sokka had on his shoulder.

Sokka decided that he was just nervous or quiet my nature and took no offense. He was still worried though and couldn’t focus on much. Especially not trying to soothe a stranger or ask where he was from.

“If… if it helps,” Lee said, glancing at him, “I didn’t see much blood… and no bodies out there.”

Sokka looked at him, realizing that he was just awkward. He was trying to be nice, which earned a tense little smile, “It’s good to know that the others probably weren’t hurt.”

Lee nodded, gently taking the bandages and covering his burn. He breathed, eyes closed as he did. He glanced at him, then the knives again. He looked unsettled, probably over whatever had happened to him.

“I’m sorry that I can’t offer more,” He said, glancing at him and Sokka was struck by how small the boy looked.

“I’m sure if you’d seen my friends you would have grabbed them,” Sokka didn’t know that, but he wanted to believe it.

He felt the other’s hands slowly lean him back, causing him to glance at the other, “You still need rest… take at least another day?”

Lee had quickly realized that Sokka didn’t want to lose even more time, but he felt like he was right. Some more rest would do him good, “Just one more day.”

“I’ll get you something to eat too,” He said, taking a step back to go and do that Sokka assumed.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zuko knew it was stupid to go out at night like he had, but he was glad he did. He’d found the other teen bleeding and with a burn on his shoulder laying in the trees. He’d barely hesitated, kneeling next to him and trying to talk to him. He didn’t know what else to do, but he soon found that the other was probably out of it, barely looking up at him with those blue eyes.

Zuko knew that blue was from the Water Tribes. He was dressed in blue too. So Zuko hesitantly went from kneeling with him to picking him up and slowly moving to take him back to his little house he’d lived in for a year or so now.

He took him to his room, settling him down on his bed and get to work stripping his tunic off. He could see the scorched material and he didn’t know how bad it was, but no matter what he’d do his best.

\----------

Zuko was getting Sokka something to eat, but he was also making a plan. He couldn’t leave - wouldn’t leave, too much of a coward - but he could help the other prepare. He put together a meal and tea, taking it to him and setting it down close.

He exited the room, taking the knives with him. Stiletto knives.

Zuko looked down at them once he was out of sight, shivering. Mai.

The burn was so precise, the knives so carefully placed, and a lot of the bruises were from shockingly powerful and small fists. He knew it had to be them. He closed his eyes, taking a breath.

“Make up a pack… rations,” He muttered, grabbing a backpack he’d stored for a while.

He packed it with rations, looking around, “I have… a small amount of money to spare…”

He darted around, slowly packing a backpack that should help sustain the other boy. It wouldn’t last forever, but long enough for him to get to the next village at least. He didn’t have a lot he could spare, but a blanket could help if it got cold. Spark rocks, not like Zuko actually needed them.

He finished packing the bag, setting it aside safely as he placed the other’s boomerang next to it and set to repairing his tunic.

Zuko made sure that it was repaired so he could wear it, letting out a heavy sigh as he paused before getting a tub of burn ointment and gently placing it in the pack. He didn’t know how well the burn would heal, but it would be an attempt to help.

He hesitated, picking up a piece of parchment and starting to write out a quick note. Just some things he could say to unnerve Azula and the others. Vague enough not to incriminate Zuko, but… the last one was extremely so. He closed his eyes, knowing that the other would likely question this when he did see it. It would help him he hoped.

He walked back into the other room, wondering why he was going so far for someone he didn’t know. All he knew was that the guy was worried about his sister and had been attacked by Azula.

He took a breath, shaking his head a little as he took the dishes from where Sokka had set them.

“Hey, thanks for the food,” Sokka said, earning Zuko’s attention.

He had that wide-eyed look he’d gotten a few times already, which worried him. Was he in shock? He seemed fine other than that though…

“Your welcome,” He said, watching the other suddenly go back to the cup of tea, “I fixed your tunic.”

He cursed. What good would telling him that do? He could have just given it to him the next day when he left.

The other perked up though, looking happy, “Thanks for that, now I don’t have to go off trying to find a replacement.”

Zuko nodded, looking at him and glancing at the window and humming a little. He could feel the other’s gaze on him, but he didn’t react. He wondered if the other thought when he did, but he didn’t mention that he knew that he was staring at him.

“The sun’s setting, you should get some more sleep,” He told him, feeling the sun going down and breathing out heavily, “I’ll change your bandages in the morning and put on some more ointment to keep your burns and other injuries from getting infected.”

He heard the cup being put down, “Yeah.”

Zuko slipped back out to the main room, letting him take his bed since he was injured. He paused, glancing at the teapot he still had since they’d separated and covered his face.

“Uncle, what am I getting myself into?” He asked.

He also knew no one would answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka gets the help he needs and supplies to get him on his way before saying goodbye. Only to find that this won't be the last time he sees the other.

Zuko couldn’t sleep that night, with the pack ready for the other and everything set up to help him the next day. He didn’t have any idea what the other was planning on doing to catch up to his sister, but at least he wasn’t sending him out without anything. The pack was full of supplies and his tunic was fixed. He frowned a little to himself, staring at the pile of things, and then glanced at the cabinet in the corner. He walked over, leaning behind it to grab a second pack.

He packed everything else important in it, telling himself that he wouldn’t need it. They weren’t going to come back and find him here. He was going to help Sokka back to where he’d found him and then he’d come back and everything would go back to normal.

A simple life of doing the same things every day. Of going and helping the people of the town with whatever they needed. Coming back to his little house and heading into the clearing behind it to run his katas dry. To practice with his dao until the sun started to set.

So there was no need to pack up everything again like the Fire Nation would be storming his home any minute. He reached behind the cabinet again, just pulling out a mask. He stared down at the blue and white mask with a frown. He carefully tucked it behind his pack and nearly set his dao next to it as well.

He glanced at the door to his room where the other was asleep and took a breath. He turned and left. He strapped the swords to his side, walking towards where he’d found the Water Tribe teen. He crept back into the same spot, glancing around before walking into the area properly. He started to check for anything he might have missed.

He paused, glancing at where he’d found Sokka, and started to look at the ground. He found the blood from where he’d been lying when he found him.

“Okay… but there’s no sign of anyone else here…” Zuko muttered, then looked at the sight of footsteps nearby, “He stumbled over here.”

He got up, following the signs of where Sokka must have stumbled and tripped as he fled. He bit his lip as he followed it through the trees and found more signs of a fight.

More blood, clear burns on the trees, marks from knives, and a lot more of the ground is messed up. He stopped where the main fight probably happened. He continued to look around, seeing signs of all three girls that he knew, but he was more interested in what he didn’t know.

It looked like the ground had been torn up, an earthbender was likely. Then there were cuts that were too wide for it to be from knives. That wasn’t earthbending, maybe waterbending? Sokka was Water Tribe so it wasn’t impossible... but he said he was from the Southern Tribe. Who the Fire Nation had raided until they didn’t have any benders left.

Had they managed to hide one? Had one been born after the raids? He said he was with his sister and the last raid was probably about six years ago... he sighed, shaking his head. It wouldn’t do any good to speculate about it. It was waterbending, so maybe he’d picked up a waterbender while in the Northern Tribe? He shook his head, telling himself to stop.

He started to look around and frowned, while the lower gashes could easily be waterbending, some were really high... too high for waterbending to keep its strength and come down at that angle. He refused to go down that train of thought, he’d gotten over the idea that the Avatar was still around. He’d given up and he wouldn’t let himself get sucked back into that paranoia and desperation. It had driven him nearly insane to do it and he knew better than to let it take control of him again.

He looked for any sign that someone was still around or where they might have gone. He found what looked like large animal tracks all over, but that could be from anything passing through... well, mostly. It was absurdly large and Zuko didn’t think there was anything close to that size in these woods. He just ended up shaking his head, looking around more, and finding nothing that could help him. He couldn’t tell where the people had gone exactly, but it was more East than anything.

He stood up, slowly making his way back to his house. He couldn’t find anything else, whoever he was with before must have taken all their supplies with them. Which left Zuko with nothing he could bring back. He double-checked as he went for anything.

He was just grateful not to find any more blood or a corpse waiting for him. Which would not be the best thing to go and tell the other. He doubted that it would help much, but telling him that he’d found the body of someone would probably cause him to panic. So at least Zuko knew that he wasn’t trying to keep a secret from him about finding a dead body.

He sighed, slipping back up and into his house until sunrise.

\----------

Zuko had everything ready at sunrise, but he’d forgotten one thing. Most people didn’t wake up with the sun like he did. Especially when they were badly injured. So now he was just walking around his house and fidgeting with things. He found himself unable to sit down and he couldn’t stop thinking either.

He sighed, looking out of the window, and stayed determined to let Sokka sleep until he woke up naturally.

When he heard the movement in his room he opened the door and peeked in carefully. The boy was rubbing at his face, clearly just waking up. He glanced at the pack and walked all the way in.

“Gotta redo the bandages?” Sokka asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, then you can have something to eat and I’ll help you back to where I found you,” He said, “I think I have an idea of where everyone that was in the clearing went.”

Zuko watched Sokka smile and felt his face start to go red. He turned a little, “I’ll get you something to eat.”

He slipped back out of his room, putting together another meal for him; taking it in to him and watching him as he looked up. He was fiddling with the blankets but smiled when Zuko walked back in and carefully set him up with food again. He fought down another blush, looking down and keeping his eyes away from him while he did.

He let out a small mumble, glancing up at him for a moment. He didn't speak up after, just looking away and carefully picking up more bandages and salve. He would make sure that he was as good off as he could get him and then he'd forget this ever happened. He could forget how close Azula had come to him. How close he had come to having this peaceful life ripped out from under him.

A peaceful life that he never asked for. He had never planned on living out his life in the middle of the Earth Kingdom, hiding and trying to avoid anyone finding him. It was just done because that's what seemed like the best idea.

"Hey, you look worried," He heard Sokka say, causing him to look back up at him, "I don't know what to tell you... but thanks. I'm sure that no one will come back here. They were pretty intent on getting me and my friends."

He paused at that, taking a moment before he managed a small smile, "I'm sure you're right."

He went back to wait for him to finish eating before carefully going and unwrapping his bandages again. He looked over the slowly healing injuries. The burn was looking better and while on the deeper side, the knife wounds didn't look like they'd be too bad so long as he found his friends and they continued to help him.

He used the salve on his burn, carefully covering it and wrapping it again. He made sure it was tight enough to support his ribs as well, hoping he wouldn't push too far and undo the work he'd done. Once he was done he stepped back and let Sokka turn to put his feet on the ground and then stand up. He waited next to him, ready to steady him. He seemed to be carefully testing how much of his weight he could bear and sighed with relief before grinning at Zuko again.

He nodded, leading him out into the main room while fighting down another blush. He wasn't sure why he was blushing, but this was the second time that Sokka had managed it. He just picked up his tunic when he got in there, turning back around and resolutely deciding that he wasn't going to look at the others chest. He'd already patched him up and he had no reason to.

Sokka smiled again when he got in, taking his tunic and then glancing at him with an awkward looking grin, "You mind helping me? I'm not sure I can manage with these bandages."

Zuko held back a sigh, realizing that he was right and that he would need help. He walked closer, carefully helping him into his tunic and then picking up the pack he'd made up for him.

"What's that?" He heard, turning back to Sokka.

"You might not find your friends right away, so you can have this to help you," He muttered, pointing towards the boomerang he'd attached to it, "I found this as well. I assumed it was yours."

Sokka perked up at that and smiled at him again, looking pleased with that, "Yeah! Thanks for that. You really picked up everything, didn't you?"

Zuko shrugged, but then watched Sokka looking at the pack and frown. He paused, tilting his head for a moment at him and watching him glance up at him.

"Dude, I can't just take your stuff," He said, trying to offer him the bag back, "You might need this."

Zuko pressed his hands to the bag and pushed it back into his arms as gently as he could, "No, I really don't. Besides, I didn't save your life just for you to starve or freeze to death because you didn't have anything on you."

Sokka frowned at him, but Zuko stared him down, "You don't need to do this, you know?"

Zuko couldn't help the sigh that came with that, "Yes, I am well aware that I don't have to do this. I'm choosing to do this."

~~~~~~~~~~

Sokka hesitated, the surprisingly heavy bag in his arms. He hadn't known that Li was going to do anything beyond feed him that day and then help him back to where he found him. He especially didn't expect him to mend his clothes and then offer him his own stuff so that he would be okay as he made his way back to his friends. He smiled at Li again, grateful for what he was doing.

"Thanks again," He managed, looking at the door, "You said you knew where my friends might have gone."

"Yeah," He said, waiting for him to pull the bag onto his good shoulder, "I noticed most of the footprints and everything were headed East."

Sokka paused, fixing the bag to his shoulder and agreeing internally, "Yeah, that makes sense."

Sokka watched Li turn, glancing around his house for a moment. He noticed a small teapot that was well taken care of. And another bag. A sword was settled against it and it looked packed. He paused, looking at Li's back as they walked out.

Having found out that someone was near his home scared him that badly? That he was prepared to run at a moment's notice. Was it the inference that Sokka was fighting the Fire Nation?

His mind jumped to the scar that took most of the boy's left side of his face. The way it curled down under the collar of his robes. A nasty burn that looked far from accidental. Probably inflicted by a firebender destroying a village. If he wanted to run away at the thought of them... Sokka couldn't really blame him. Though he did wonder about the sword. That meant that he could probably fight, but he didn't seem intent on doing so.

Sokka tested his movement while the other was looking forward, leading him into the woods. He was pretty sure that he'd be okay, but he was grateful for the direction that he was getting ahead of time.

"Here," Sokka paused, looking at the messed up area and nodding as he looked around, "That's East."

He followed the line of his wrist as he pointed and he gave a nod and turned to grin at the other boy again, "Thanks again, this really helped a lot. So did you finding me."

He watched the other get that tense look on his face again and nod a little in his direction, "Sorry I can't tell you anything more."

He laughed a little bit, "You did too much already, but thanks for everything you did."

He waved, turning in the right direction and started to walk. Hopefully Katara and the others would be looking for him. It would mean that he wouldn't have to walk the whole way injured and his sister could heal him a little more so that he wasn't just walking around injured.

\----------

Sokka was looking through the pack a couple of hours later and he knew that his face was flushed. Li had given him literally everything he could need to travel for at least a few days without interruption and he'd even packed in money so that he could buy things if he came across a town.

He paused at a sound though, looking up and back. He frowned, wondering what it was when Li burst out of the bushes and paused, panting and looking at him in confusion for a moment.

"Uh, buddy you okay?" He asked, seeing that he had his weapon strapped to his hip and his bag thrown over his shoulder.

He looked ruffled and frantic.

"Fire Nation," He heard, the other letting out a heavy breath and reaching to help him stand up, "Come on!"

Sokka had been right. Li wanted to flee the Fire Nation, but he had come after Sokka in an attempt to help him. He took the hand and started to run with Li.

The other boy was moving quickly, pulling Sokka along and occasionally looking behind him. He seemed to be worried, but he wouldn't stop. Which had Sokka worried that the other had been followed.

Soon Sokka realized that he was right. He could hear the pounding of footsteps behind him. Then the voices started to clear up, yelling something about finding whoever had run off. He heard a few things about finding 'Water Tribe' which only fueled him to run faster. He gasped, stumbling and watching as Li stopped to turn around and help him back up.

"There they are!" Li's head flew up, moving to block him from the soldier's line of sight.

"You two shouldn't have run," A voice growled.

Sokka looked back to find five men, all moving into firebending form. His eyes went wide.

'We're gonna die, we're gonna get hit by five simultaneous fire blasts and we're both going to die,' Sokka's mind raced suddenly, 'Li lives alone, but does he have family? That might notice if letters stop coming or he stops visiting at a certain time. He's still trying to protect me. He's going to die.'

Sokka watched as Li shifted his stance and didn't reach for his sword at all. The men surged forward as one, creating a large fire blast that aimed straight for the other teen.

Sokka flinched, only to see Li suddenly plant his feet securely and lift his arms in front of him and cross.

The fire broke around his arms like there was an invisible shield in front of him. As the flames parted Li surged forward, several punches sending fire blasting at the soldiers and a kick sweeping out a sheet of flames.

Li forced Sokka to his feet again, pulling him along as the soldiers scrambled in confusion.

Sokka couldn't blame them, because he was still in shock over what he'd seen.

Li was a firebender.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Zuko has the scar, but Sokka just doesn't care enough to think of it deeply.


End file.
